Rookie leads Green Gaels in scoring
May 13, 2008 - 03:00
By Brad Kelly
BOWMANVILLE -- A year ago, Ryan Serville failed to register a point with the Clarington Green Gaels.
But there is a catch. The Pickering resident was used for just one game, as a callup to help fill a hole.
This season he has vaulted from the bottom of the stats sheet to the top, leading the undefeated Green Gaels, who take their perfect 6-0-0 record into Barrie tonight to face the 5-0-0 Tornadoes. The same two teams complete a home-and-home Thursday in Bowmanville at 8 p.m.
The fact that Serville is leading the way offensively for the lacrosse club with 11-20-31 numbers, and is third overall in the OLA Jr. B league, comes as no surprise to head coach Jason Crosbie.
"Every team he has been on he has been in the top two or three in goals and points," he says, before poking a little fun at the 17-year-old rookie. "Me and (assistant coach) Jonas (Derks) call him the ugliest player to watch because he is very unorthodox in what he does, but he just gets it done."
Make no mistake. Crosbie and Derks will gladly take ugly when it produces the kind of results Serville has. Pretty sometimes doesn't get it done.
Coming into the season, Serville was of the mindset he just wanted to fit in. The fact he has emerged as the go to guy offensively has been a pleasant surprise to him.
"Coming in, I was expecting to be a role player," he says.
He alluded to last year's leading scorer, Mark Matthews, who put up 99 points in 19 games to lead the East Conference. Matthews is now playing Jr. A for the Whitby Warriors.
"I wasn't trying to fill his shoes, but I was trying to have a good season coming in so I can help this team win."
So far so good. Six games up and six in the win column.
"He knows when to go and when not to go," says Crosbie of Serville's knack for getting to the net. "He gets that step because he is so big and tall, and he can put the ball away.
"He is a very nice player with good hands and a very good mind for the game."
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